What a Difference a Day Makes!

Last weekend, Elizabeth and I took a trip to Houston, Texas and Sulphur, LA. We attended the wedding of her niece, Melissa Kitfield. It was a nice wedding and we had a fantastic time hanging out with her cousins Claude and Ron Kitfield and seeing places we'd never before visited.
Upon arriving home at about 12:30 AM, I proceeded upstairs to watch the two hour season finale of "24" on the DVR. Hang in there Jack - we need you! By the time I hit the pillow it was after two! Then on Tuesday, I got up early to get a few things done. My goal was to take an early bike ride but before I knew it the clock said 2:30 PM!
Off I went on the bike and I knew instinctively that this was not going to be one of my better rides. My legs felt weak and tired and no matter how I tried it was difficult to maintain any rhythm at all! At my turn around spot near Pond Park I felt exhausted, hot, and wishing for a thirty-two once Coke!
By the time I was back to the intersection of Folsom Bl. and Iron Point I was totally spent. The rest of the ride is about 3.5 miles and most of it up hill. I pulled out the phone and called Elizabeth. Luckily she was just leaving for a dinner appointment and was willing to rescue me in the truck and then catch a ride home with a girlfriend. To say I was upset would be an understatement! I do not like not finishing a ride!
Today after work, I elected to once again mount my road bike and forgo the mountain bike racing at Prairie City. Wow, by the time I turned the corner on to Marsh Hawk I knew today was going to be the polar opposite of yesterday's effort.
I was flying down Iron Point and had the large chain ring engaged. My speed down to the fish hatchery was close to my personal best at 22-minutes. The farther I went the better I felt. No coasting ... just hammering the pedals! At about thirteen miles, I turned around after about a 45-second rest. Back on the pedals trying to catch all the fast riders out on this beautiful evening. Going up the long ramp just east of Sunrise, I caught the wheel of a tandem and while staying in the big gear easily made it to the top.
There were multiple sprints when I pushed up to over 20-MPH and it all felt good. Finally, back to the intersection where I bonked yesterday and I powered up Iron Point. A glance at the computer revealed double-digit speed all the way to Prairie City Road. At one point, I was spinning at 15-MPH on the uphill section near Intel. Across McAdoo in the big ring again and flying. One last right turn onto Marsh Hawk followed by a left on Sprig and up the driveway. Garage door open, release foot, stop and park bike. Back home feeling great! This was a memorable ride! What a difference a day makes!

B.O.S. Guy Hits Trail!

This season at Prairie City Race Series (mountain bike racing) I've been there each week with my sweet 29er but have just taken photos of my friends that are racing. Still being new to mountain biking I've just not gotten comfortable enough this year to go for it on Wednesday night.

That is until this past week. On May 6th I was ready with my bike and my camera. I thought I'd do a practice lap, find a spot for good photos, and then just settle in taking pictures. That all changed when I spoke to "Big Rick" the announcer for the series and general all-around good guy! "Come on Reg, perfect night and no pressure, right?" Well, yeah that is right! "What is your goal for tonight Reg?" asked Big Rick. To keep the rubber on the dirt and the paramedic in his truck! "Nothing to it Reg ... go for it!"

So, I signed in and got my number plate (978) and ventured forth on a practice lap. At the first substantial downhill, I paused for several minutes and rode around in circles wondering how to best get down this slope. After watching every one cut the corner and run a line down the narrow right side, I opted for a wider turn and a straight shot down the face of the rutted ramp. It worked out fine and continuing around the 3.2 mile circuit I handled the hills quite well. Oh no, not another (more technical) downhill. Again, I watched the other riders lines as they familiarized themselves with the course and then followed suit. No problem!

Once done with the practice lap I rejoined my friends for further discussion and suggestions on the course. It should be noted that earlier today (5/6) I spent about four hours moving just about everything around in the garage and followed up with 30-minutes on my trainer. You see, I was not really expecting to ride tonight!

Once the race began I got to the aforementioned downhill sections and handled them with ease on lap one. Near the end of the lap I was tired and really thinking about calling it a day and just taking a DNF. But as I crossed the transition area for lap two there were many people cheering and ringing cow bells! I laughed out loud as I rode through this gauntlet of fans and elected to go after the second lap.

On this lap I travelled faster on the downhills and a little slower on the uphills! By the time I finished my two laps, most of the competitors were done and loading their bikes. This includes those doing three and four laps!

My speed (or lack of same) makes up the title for this post Big Old Slow Guy Hits the Trail! This goes along with my motto: I may be big and old but I'm slow!

It is all fun!!!!!

Chain Snake

Last Friday (5/1) I rode for two hours in the rain and had what was then my best ride of the year. Today, in spite of some setbacks, was even better!

This morning, I went out to get my bike ready for a good ride. Checked the tires ... OK! Filled the water bottles ... check! Got dressed and ready to roll ... check! One last check and I'm on my way. Opps! The computer isn't working! Not a good thing for someone who logs every ride. Now this new (to me) computer has worked very well; however, being in the rain last Friday may not have been in it's best interests! After about an hour of fiddling with it and calling the manufacturer it came to life! I'm off.

Right from the get go I felt an amazing amount of energy. With a pretty stiff headwind I was amazed at how fast I was traveling. My first time check on a typical American River bike trail ride is how many minutes from home to the Sac State Aquatic Center. Typically, I am trying to hit that in about 22-minutes. Today, it was a little under twenty-one minutes. Surprising and refreshing for sure.

Continuing down the trail to my next measuring point, William Pond Park, I was amazed to see that my time was only nine-seconds past one hour. Fantastic. After a short rest I began the trek back to Folsom. With the wind now largely at my back my pace quicken and I was absolutely sure that this was my best effort in quite some time.

Throughout this ride, there were some unusual sounds coming from the drive train. On several occasions, the drive train shifted without my pushing the lever to do so! After shifting to the big chain ring the problem seemed to fade away. It wasn't until shifting just prior to a long ramp up that the noise began again. As I got to the top of a short climb the sound got louder ... and then, the chain broke and my forward momentum came to a halt.

I called Dave L. and he was willing to come and rescue me. Once home, I took the bike to Bicycles Plus and had a new chain installed. The computer was another story. Looks like the old one will be reinstalled tomorrow so I can account for all my rides once again.

Oh, I did see about a three-foot rattlesnake today. In it's honor, I layed my decrepid chain on the bike trail so it resembled a snake.

Don't know if this is worse than the time when my seat post broke and I had to ride a five miles standing up.

I love riding my bicycle!

"Spinning in the Rain!"

Most of the time while riding my goal is about 85-90 RPM on the pedals. Over the years I've developed the habit of spinning in this manner with the result being a fairly smooth cadence. For example, my average cadence (RPM's) over the course of today's ride was 82. This was due to a slower spin on the uphill parts of the ride. My high spin was 137 RPM which equated to about 25.5 MPH. This high spin/speed had a duration of about 25-30 seconds. Today I ramped up the spin/speed five or six times. These short bursts of energy is called interval training. For those that race, a win at the line after a long day in the saddle may come down to a sprint finish. Those riders able to ramp it at the end of the day have a shot at the "W".

Okay, so today it was cloudy and dry when leaving the house but after about twenty or so minutes, the rain came! The sane thing to do would have been to turn around and head back home. Why do that?

I decided to complete my training ride and not let the rain "dampen" my spirits. So off I went in the the steady light rain. After about thirty minutes it subsided ... but just for a few minutes! After arriving at William Pond park on the American River bike trail it began again. Since this is where I turn around and head back to Folsom I did just that rather than take a break.

Perhaps the rain was a motivating factor today as I rode faster than usual and didn't let the fact that I was soaked from head to toe bother me. At one point, my socks were so wet that it felt like my feet were in puddles as I pedaled! All I could do was laugh, and I did several times on the way home. Oh, there were other folks out there to; runners, walkers, and other cyclists. It was amazing!

By the time I got back to the Nimbus Aquatic Center the water was dripping off my head onto my glasses and I couldn't see a thing! Thank goodness the bike trail has nice yellow lines in the middle. Since the rain had become just a spritz ... I stopped for a moment and dried the glasses and continued on home.

Once home, I thought to myself that this was one of my best rides this year! Other than being drenched, I felt better than I have in a long time on the bike. Of the thirty plus miles I pedaled today approximately twenty-three miles were in the rain. You know, it just makes a guy feel young again to "spin in the rain!" Nothing like a sweet bike ride on your day off!